II CHRONICLES, EZRA, & NEHEMIAH

It is Tuesday, and I woke up a bit late.  I was so tired, I went to bed at 10:00pm and hardly rolled over.  I got up very early yesterday and had a busy day and then we had three new couples over from Church last night.  What a joy it was to see how God was working in their lives and how thrilled they were to be at Grand View.  God also sent me a great email from another family about how great God is working in their lives since they came to our church and then another card in the mail from another family stating basically the same thing, and God has been moving like that for the last several weeks especially.  Praise God for His blessings!! In Reading this morning, there is so much to write.  These books are full of truth.  Let me just share some simple ones: 1) GOD USING HEATHENS?  Well, I don't know how heathen these kings are when you look at them listening to the God of Heaven and seeking to carry out His will.  Allow me just to list them if I can.  Necho, King of Egypt said: "God commanded me to make haste: forbear thee from meddling with God, who is with me, that he destroy thee not."  II Chron. 35:21  Josiah was a godly king, but he didn't listen to Necho and he was killed in battle.  Necho was following God's command.  vs. 22 said "and hearkened not unto the words of Necho from the mouth of God,..."  Then Ezra 1:2 says:  "Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.'  Wow!  Cyrus said God charged him.  Then Darius the King of Persia spoke about the God of Heaven and he have a law about letting His work in Jerusalem alone.  Then Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace and at such a time."  Ezra 7:12  This King also stood up for God.  Wow!  Heathen?  They did obey the LORD! 2) THE PREPARED HEART  Ezra 7:10 "For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments."  Ezra prepared his heart to do these three things:  seek, do, and teach!  That same pattern is for all of us today as well.  May God allow us to seek His will, then do His will, and then to teach others to do likewise.  3) WHAT REVIVAL ACCOMPLISHES  In Ezra 9:8,9, we see Ezra talking about the Jews and revival.  Vs. 8 says: "give us a little reviving" and vs. 9 says: "to give us a reviving" and then it goes on to say what this would accomplish: a. God's house would become a priority again, b. Rebuilding lives becomes a priority, and c. Putting up walls of separation becomes a priority.  (see it in verse 9) 4) NEHEMIAH 4:14 says "remember the LORD" .  What a great challenge!  Whenever you are faced with difficulties in life, "remember the LORD".  Whenever you are blessed and prone to thinking highly of yourself, "remember the LORD".  Whenever you stray from the right path, "remember the LORD".  What a great challenge! 5) NEHEMIAH 8:1 says "bring the book of the law of Moses".  When in doubt, "bring the book"!  The book has the answers!  The Bible, God's Holy Word.  After the walls were built in 52 days, now the work of getting Jerusalem worshiping God correctly is started and it all starts by having a preacher "bring the book"!   I'm so glad that God has called me to preach His Holy Word, and I have the joy and honor each week to "bring the book" and preach it's truths.  Later in chapter 8, the priest were told to: Read it; Read it out loud distinctly; and Read it and cause the people to understand it.  Sounds like preaching to me! Sorry, running late now.  Have a blessed day!  Pastor Mike Mutchler